


Broken Promises

by theaceupmysleeveisme



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, It’s just a whole lot of angst, its also kinda rushed and unedited, so bear with me pls, with a few seconds of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 17:26:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18921658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theaceupmysleeveisme/pseuds/theaceupmysleeveisme
Summary: Taako’s been worried lately.So Angus makes a promise to help soothe those worries.





	Broken Promises

“Sir, how long do elves live?” 

The quiet question from Angus had come out of nowhere, surprising Taako. He stared at the boy for a moment in absolute silence before looking away. His posture was tense, ears pointed downward, and Angus could feel... some sort of emotion radiating off of him.

“Too long, Angus.” His reluctant answer was barely audible. “Too long.”

Angus didn’t know how to respond to that.

It’s almost two months later and Angus was unable to sleep. School was out for the summer and Taako had graciously offered to let him stay at his house, but only because Kravitz insisted, apparently. 

Angus knew that wasn’t the case- not that he would tell Taako that.

He went to the kitchen searching for a late night snack, only to find his host, who did not look well. 

The elf mindlessly frosted a cake while he muttered to himself. Angus couldn’t help but notice the bags under his eyes, and the careless way Taako’s hair had been pulled back. Everything about him seemed wrong.

“Sir?” Taako didn’t acknowledge him. “Taako!” The elf jumped, his blood shot eyes searching wildly for the intruder. He visibly relaxed when he noticed Angus before returning to his frosting.

“You need something, bubbeleh?” Angus moved towards the fridge, noting the way Taako seemed to jump at every noise, the way his hands shook as he slathered bright green frosting messily onto the cake in front of him.

“I was just coming to get a snack.” He spoke in a calming tone as he pulled juice box from the fridge. Taako hummed noncommittally, his pace never slowing. “Are... are you alright, sir?” 

Now he stopped.

“I’m fine, Agnes.” Taako said confidently. He placed the spatula back in the bowl, wincing when it clattered loudly. 

“The fact that you’re shaking says otherwise.” Angus raised an eyebrow when Taako let out a loud sigh. 

“ _Listen,_ ” Taako seemed exasperated. “It’s just a run of the mill existential crisis. Now go back to bed or I’ll magic missile your ass.” Angus stared at the elf for a moment, before hopping on top of the counter that wasn’t covered in baking supplies and settling there with a confident look on his face.

“I’m not going back to bed until you talk.” 

Taako scoffed. “Which isn’t going to happen-“

“If you don’t talk to _me,_ ” Angus spoke with a wicked gleam in his eyes. “I’m certain Miss Lup will know how to make you open up.” Taako stiffened, meeting Angus’s stare with his own. After a moment, it was clear who the winner was.

“ _Fine!_ ” The elf threw his hands up in the air, conceding defeat. He pointed an accusing finger at the boy. “This is blackmail and extortion, you know that?” Angus gave him a big grin that said _yes, he did know that._

“So,” Angus took a small sip of his juice box. “What’s bothering you?”

“Mortality.” Taako muttered. He reached for the bag of icing that rested on the counter and began to create swirling designs on the cake. 

Angus adjusted his glasses solemnly. “I’m fairly certain everyone considers the certainty of their own demise at some point.”

Taako’s head shot up to stare at him for a moment. “What the _fuck,_ Ango? What kind of books are you reading? You’re like, _five._ ” 

Angus only gave a small shrug in response. “I’m _twelve,_ and I read above the average level. Besides,” he took another sip of his juice. “This is about you, sir.”

“Right...” Taako said, still eyeing Angus oddly. “Well, cha’boy wasn’t thinking about _his_ demise. I-“ He swallowed, taking a moment to collect himself. “I was thinking about the fact that I’m still pretty young.” His neat icing swirls became more sporadic, his hands made jerking motions as he became more unstable. “I was thinking about the fact that I’m going to outlive most of my family. About how I’m going to outlive the people I _love-_ ” for Taako’s sake, Angus pretended not to notice when a few stray tears slipped down the elf’s face. “About how I’m going to even outlive you.” 

There was a split second of vulnerability on his face before the mask came back up- the nonchalant, seemingly uncaring mask of Taako from TV. 

But Angus, as always, detectived straight through his horseshit.

“You’ll never be alone, though.” Taako flinched at the words. “You’ll still have Mr. Kravitz, and Miss Lup, and Mr. Barold-“ there was a soft chuckle at that.

“Didn’t dear old Barold tell you _not_ to call him that?” 

“ _Perhaps._ ” The grin on Angus’s face was enough to allow the tension in Taako’s shoulders to melt away. 

“Wanna help me make the best cake to ever exist in this realm?” Taako smiled when Angus hopped off the counter excitedly, moving quickly to do whatever Taako instructed. 

They’re happy, even with the occasional pangs of worry that rip through Taako. They spend the rest of the night in the kitchen, baking, laughing, and possibly setting the stove on fire. 

It’s only when Taako noticed the sun rising through the window that he realized how long they’d been up. He suggested going out to watch the sunrise, and Angus happily agreed, grabbing two slices of cake before he ran out to the front porch. 

It was quiet, with only the occasional bird calls to break the silence. 

“I promise to live longer than you.” Angus declared. It’s a foolish promise, one that they both know can’t be kept. But Taako knew he meant it earnestly, and he couldn’t help but smile. 

“Thanks, Angus.”

And if Kravitz found them sleeping there an hour later, he wasn’t going to tell anyone. 

—————

It’s a few months after Carey and Killian’s wedding, and Taako was having a blast. He’d spent a good part of the afternoon shopping in Goldcliff, and he’d found quite the haul. 

“Coming, Agnes?” Taako yelled over his shoulder. The boy detective had begun to fall behind as he carried armfuls of Taako’s new things.

“Couldn’t you just levitate these or something?” Angus called from behind the elf. 

“I _could,_ but cha’boy isn’t going to burn up a spell slot on that!” Taako shot back a grin. “Besides, you said you wanted to help, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but-“ Angus’s words were cut off with a muffled grunt, one that made Taako’s gut churn with worry. 

He whirled around, and felt his blood run cold at the sight that greeted him.

A large, hooded figure stood behind Angus, with a beefy arm holding the boy in place. The elf paled when he saw the glint of a knife pressed up against Angus’s throat. 

“Hey homie, would you mind keeping that knife away from my boy?” Taako kept his tone level, despite the fact that he could feel his entire body trembling.

The figure let out an animalistic growl. “Your _boy?_ ” the figure pulled his hood back, revealing the face of a tiefling that Taako had never seen before. 

“That is what I said.” Taako gave Angus what he hoped was a comforting smile. 

“You don’t deserve to have a boy.” The tiefling snarled. “Not after what you did.”

“Cha’boy has done a lot of things.” Taako took a small step forward, his eyes never leaving the knife. “You’re gonna have to be more specific. 

“Fandolin.” The tiefling spat. He tightened his grip on the knife, and Angus hissed in pain. “You destroyed the town of Fandolin.”

“Why does that matter to you?” Someone should’ve noticed something was wrong by now, but no one on the busy street seemed to care about Taako’s dilemma.

“ _My wife was there!_ ” his voice shook with anger. “My wife and my _kids!_ ” Taako winced. He knew that what happened had come with a heavy toll. 

“Listen, we messed up back then.” Taako inched closer, and he felt a flicker of hope in him because he was _so close, he just had to grab the knife._ “And as much as I wish we could undo it... we cant. Nothing will change what happened.”

A wave of sadness washed over the tiefling’s face, and Taako knew it was over, he just had to get Angus out of his reach.

And then it happened.

The tiefling hadn’t been as oblivious to Taako’s movement as the elf had hoped. He instinctively jerked away from Taako, and when he did, the knife slid across Angus’s throat. 

Taako was fairly certain he heard a scream- probably his own- as he dove forward to catch the falling figure of the boy. 

He holds Angus in his lap and he can’t _breathe,_ everything is happening all at once and there are tears running down his face faster than he can think- and there’s so much _red,_ covering Angus, covering him.

“ _Please, you can’t leave me._ ” Taako sobbed, rocking Angus back and forth. But once glance at his face, and he knew.

Angus’s eyes had always shined, full of curiosity, full of _life,_ , and now they didn’t and he was _gone-_

Sobs wracked Taako’s body as he pulled Angus in for a hug, _one last time,_ and he can only beg for him to come back, _please-_

But he knows Angus isn’t coming back. All Taako can do is hold his small form and whisper one thing.

“You _promised._ ”

**Author's Note:**

> So, again, I don’t think it’s all that great, but I figured I would post it to save it.   
> I will probably come back later and fix it up and possibly give it a happy ending- but I’m not entirely sure!  
> Thanks for reading!


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